Juliette's First Time to Camp

So we are off to camp this week. We're praying for good weather, God's favor, and an awesome week of learning and spiritual growth for all the kids who attend - and us too!

You Can't Take It With You

"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it." - 1 Timothy 6:6-7

I admit it.

Yes, I actually said it.

I actually complained that I might not have enough room in our car for all of the stuff that I am taking to camp next week.

I mean, that's like complaining that there isn't enough room in the refrigerator. Why complain about having too much food?

What a blessing that God has so abundantly met our needs. What a blessing that I have a stroller for jogging, a stroller for sunny walks (complete with a swivel shade and a heat sensor), AND an umbrella stroller. What a blessing that Juliette has a heavy coat, a lighter jacket, a thick sweater, AND a summer sweater. What a blessing that we have so many material possessions that cater to nearly our every need, not to mention our every wish or desire.

But how quickly those blessings can become burdens when they are not put in their proper place. How quickly they can become distractions or diversions, mastering us rather than being mastered by us. How quickly they can become sources of worry and anxiety. How quickly they can become something that just takes up space - space in our homes, space in our closets, space in our lives.

Don't get me wrong, I greatly enjoy our strollers, and subsequently all of our other many blessings, but I hope that, should they all be striped away, I would not find that I had built my joy around them. I hope that the source of my contentment runs deeper than the physical blessings that we have so graciously been endowed with.

I hope that I can be happy, even when I can't take it all with me - to camp, or otherwise.

So if you see a white SUV, stuffed to the gills, driving down the highway with a "Camp or Bust" sign on the window, say a little prayer for me.

Pray that I'll get a little better at this whole contentment thing.

A Father's Delight

May your deeds be shown to your servants, your splendor to their children. - Ps. 90:16

On Its Way Up

Quick Update On Seth: He had his ultrasound yesterday. The technician scanned his belly for 45 minutes and frustratingly said that she couldn't find anything abnormal. Praise the Lord! I'm not sure what the next step will be (May I suggest a blood work retest?), but seeing as Seth has had no symptoms, pain, or even the slightest discomfort, I'm not too worried about it. Besides, our lives are in God's hands anyhow. So that's the latest. Consider yourself "in-the-know".

~~~

Recently my sister-in-law answered the question, "Glass half empty, or half full?" with the reply, "Half full, or at least on its way up". I totally love that response, and if it is okay with her, I'm going to start using it. I mean let's face it, life isn't always hunky-dory, rainbows and roses, yellow smiley faces, feel-good good. Sometimes life disappoints us, turns us upside down, and well, leaves us feeling drained - definitely more empty than full. Anyone who says otherwise either is in denial, or hasn't lived long enough.

But "half-empty" doesn't cut it for me either. Especially because Christ has given us some major promises to hold onto during those "draining" times - promises that He'll never leave us, that He'll work everything out for good, promises that He has a plan for our lives, and that, even when it feels like we're lower than low, we are ultimately "on our way up" to be with Him. So even though I used to always say that I was a "half-full" sorta gal, thanks to my wonderful sister-in-law, I going to be honest from here on out and say, "If it ain't half-full, it's at least on its way up".

~~~

Seth and my in-laws on our wedding day.

Not-Me-Monday: Not My Child

My child never wears her breakfast, has bad hair days, or makes strange faces. And she certainly doesn't do all three things at the same time. Nope, not my child!
My child never ignores her grandma, whom she doesn't get to see very often, choosing rather to play with a plastic toy. My child would never choose things over people. No way!

My child did not learn to pull herself up in her crib, and then proceed to scream because she couldn't figure out how to get herself down. Nor does she like to play with elastic ribbons, only later discovering how much they hurt when you snap yourself with them. Nope, not my exceptionally bright child!

She definitely would never crawl around the house naked, while I drew her a bath. Nor would she leave little puddles of urine behind. That's disgusting. I'd never let my child do that.

And my child definitely wouldn't end up with more corn on her lap than in her tummy, nor would she throw a tantrum when she dropped the corn on the restaurant floor and I refused to return it to her. Nope, not my child.

Hmmm . . . I wonder who's kid I had all week?

~~~

Good News

So here is the good news (in no particular order):

• It's Friday.

• Juliette figured out how to pull herself up to a standing position in her crib this morning.

• My in-laws are on their way for a visit.

• Seth's doctor appointment went well yesterday. They don't think it is his liver but actually his gall bladder. They will confirm with an ultrasound on Monday.

• It is easier to live without a gallbladder than a liver.

• We've been enjoying cilantro from our garden.

• Jesus is always faithful.

• I'm about 2/3 of the way done with writing my lessons plans for Northern Colorado Christian Camp.

• It is not too late to sign your preteen and junior highers up for camp.

• I made a hair appointment to take care of my current "mop".

• The sun is shining, and there is only a slight breeze today.

• God is on the throne.

Yessiree, I like good news.

A Good Cry Never Hurt Nobody

Last night I just needed to have a good cry.

My grandmother says that everyone needs to have a good cry everyonce in awhile "just to wash your eyes out".

My eyes are much cleaner now.

I was crying in part because this has just been a crazy week, and I haven't had enough sleep (that will do it to me everytime!). In my "weakened" state, I was also a bit overwhelmed by Juliette's cranky "my-gums-are-super-swollen-and-I'm miserable" attitude.

Then to top it all off, Seth's lab results FINALLY came back from his life insurance screen yesterday. We found out last week that he had been denied coverage due to his blood work, but we weren't sure what the results were and/or why he wasn't eligible. After a few faxes, a few phone calls, and a few days, we finally got the results.

And they don't look good.

At least according to our internet research, however accurate that is. But it is all we have to go off of at this point.

So, according to the results, it looks like he has something pretty severe going on with his liver. He tested negative for Hepatitis A, B, and C, and excessive alcohol consumption. But there are still a lot of other factors that need to be ruled out, such as fatty liver disease, genetic weaknesses, medication or environmental poisoning, etc. All of his liver numbers are high, but one of them is 10 times the usual clinical range high. Yikes!

He heads to the local physician today to get retested. We're praying the new numbers better. Ultimately we trust that God is in control, and that He has a plan; but I'm not going to lie, part of me is pretty scared.

Last Sunday we were studying 2 Corinthians. How appropriate this portion is for us today:

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Cor 4:16-18

These bodies of ours aren't made to last forever, but we were made for eternity. No matter what the test numbers are, good or bad, it doesn't change that truth.

So I had my little . . . er, I mean big cry last night. And my eyes feel much better now.

Running Thoughts

I was supposed to run this morning.

Somehow, when the alarm went off, I just couldn't get up.

It didn't help that Seth begged me to just snuggle (a.k.a. go back to a deep, snoring sleep) a little more with him.

Nor did it help that Seth turned off the snooze function on our alarm.

Oh well.

Maybe if I talk about running today, I'll feel better about the fact that I didn't run.

Maybe.

~~~

• Running in my childhood town: Silence. Not many people around, no one to see you running.

• Running in the town where I did my student teaching: Cat calls and whistles. Few people run in the heat. Anyone who is running must look "hot".

• Running in The Big City: Considered normal. No one looks twice. Every one's doing it.

• Running on the High Arid Plains: What is she doing? Stare. Stare. Polite Stare. Do you think she's right in the head?

~~~

A great running resource: http://www.mapmyrun.com/

A free way to track your course and see how far you ran. Much better than wasting gas and trying to measure things with your odometer!

~~~

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up.

It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed.

Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up.

It knows that it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve.

It doesn't matter whether you're a lion or a gazelle,

When the sun comes up you'd better be running.
-Anonymous

Look What A Little Birdie Left Me

I found this feather in the yard a few days ago, and just couldn't resist picking it up. It is such a vibrant blue - the picture doesn't do it justice.

It must have come from one of the mountain bluebirds that have been hanging out in our tree.

Those birds have been busy "unloading" themselves on my car for the past few days. It is quite humbling, driving around town with poo piled high on the hood of your car!

In fact, Seth said that was how he recognized me, when I surprised him on the golf course the other day. He said he could see me in the distance, and thought to himself, "That looks like our car." When I got closer he could see the birdie doo, and he said, "Yep, that's definitely her."

That's me - one classy gal with a pile of poo for a hood ornament.

Not-Me-Monday: Pickles, Pooches, and Unpacking

Yeah - Not-Me-Monday is back! I certainly did not skip it last week because I was still in 'vacation mode' and continued to be until the end of the week. 'Vacation mode' did not include any of the following: sleeping in, slacking on chores, eating left-over junk food. No, I would never practice any of those bad habits!

Apparently my husband was not ready to come back to real life either, because he definitely did not wait to unpack his bag until this morning - more than a week after our trip! I never nagged him about it either. Nope, not me!

This week I did not let my child play unattended in her bedroom. Nor was I surprised to discover the reason why she was so content.

I did not whack my bangs this week, because I was just having a bad hair day. And when I tried to fix them with hairspray, the thought didn't dawn on me that I was using the same hairspray(and eyeshadow, and blush, and lipstick!) that I used for our wedding. Our wedding was over two years ago, and that stuff has to get bad - or at least less effective. But I would never be so miserly as to keep stuff around past its prime. Nope, not me!

I did not ask my husband to bathe and dress our child, so that I could go on a long training run Saturday morning. And I certainly never walk during my training "runs". Not even on my short runs. No sir! I'm in serious training.

Seth didn't dress Jewel in a dress AND jeans, and I definitely didn't think that the combo was so cute that I just left her in the outfit the entire day.

And when Seth asked if I like the outfit, I definitely didn't ask him if he knew that the 'shirt' was actually a dress. And he wasn't at all surprised to find out that he doesn't know the difference between the two.

This week I didn't transport Seth and some of his friends to go fishing, which included dropping off the trailer at the pull-out, only to find that I could not disconnect the trailer. Nor did I frantically scan the horizon for any able-bodied men to help. Seth had said that the trailer would be light, and the idea that maybe his faith in my physical abilities might be a little skewed did not cross my mind. Nor was he absolutely right in that the trailer was really light, and all I had to do was drive our SUV forward a little bit to un-stick the ball and hitch. I mean I wouldn't try to lift the weight of the trailer AND the SUV. Nope, not me!

I did not change my Facebook profile picture several times - mostly because I kept thinking that my shirt made me look a little too chubby in the middle in this one, even though I really think it is the best picture of all of us. I mean I don't care one bit if someone thinks that I might still have a baby pooch. I'm not vain like that! Definitely not.

I did not give Juliette a pickle, while we were enjoying a dinner out this week. I mean, are pickle's even okay for babies to eat?


Speaking of eating, I definitely didn't find Juliette eating a used q-tip this week. I mean that is REALLY gross. Nope, not me. Certainly, not me.

~~~

For more Not-Me-Monday fun, click here:

Going Bananas

Maybe all of you expert mommies out there already know this trick, but I just stumbled upon it. Since Juliette started eating finger foods, I've tried to get her to eat bananas, cutting them into thin slices and setting them on her highchair tray. The trouble was that she couldn't pick up the slices, as they tended to sort of suction themselves to the tray, and she didn't have the manual dexterity to pick them up.


But today I had the bright idea of cutting them into wedges instead of slices. Like this:

(You really should just ignore my reflection in the knive - yes, the reflection with the really big nose.)

Anyhow, the good news is that now she can pick them up easily.

Now I just have to figure out how to get her to stop. . .

. . . shoving so many in her mouth.

Any ideas?

Not My Home

Recently I counted up how many times I've moved since high school - eight. I was sort of surprised by that number, particularly as I am still a few years away from being thirty. There are certainly some people that have moved a lot more times in a lot less years, but eight is a big number for me. Particularly because I detest moving.

The rigid boxes, the disorder, the unnatural "jumbulation" of your worldly goods - when else do your kitchen knives spend time with your floral stationary and your winter sweaters - the adjusting to new locations of light switches, the unfamiliar sounds of new furnaces and water pipes, the dreaded learning of new street names, new mailing addresses, new telephone numbers. Yes, I really do detest moving.

If it were up to me, I'd plant myself somewhere and live out the rest of my days there. I'd dig myself in, sinking my roots so deep that when it came time for me to leave this world, they'd have to use a backhoe to dig me out.

It's probably a good thing it isn't up to me.

In the Word, people are always on the go: Abraham, the Israelites, the prophets, even the disciples where constantly moving from place to place. Hebrews 11 highlights many of those faith giants:

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. . . .[Others]wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better. . ." (vs. 8-10,38-40)

On our last return for The Big City I commented to Seth how the High Arid Plains don't really feel like home yet, but neither does The Big City. We're in an in-between place. We just don't really belong here or there.

And maybe that in-between place is exactly where we are supposed to be.

I won't be presumptuous and assume that I know why God seems to like to keep His people moving around a lot, or even why He moved us here. However one thing is for sure, moving eight times in just about as many years is a fantastic reminder of the fact that this world is not our home. "Surely God has planned something better . . . a city whose architect and builder is God Himself."

The more I move the more I'm looking forward to that "something better" - to that special, special city. To the place where I belong.

And once thing is for sure,when I get there I'm staying put!

Who Knows Best?

Having ten younger siblings, I'd like to think that I know a thing or two about taking care of babies. Of course, having your own child is a bit different than just taking care of another person's. Even so, I had quite a few hours of child care under my belt, well before I had Juliette.

Seth, on the other hand, has one sister, less than two years younger than him. That's it. And his baby experience? Limited at best.

So when it comes to settling Jewel down or figuring out the reason why she is even upset in the first place, I often take charge. Mother knows best, right? I like to remind him of her schedule, teach him how to play mind-stimulating games with her, and show him all the things required in the proper care and feeding of a child.

I tend to think that I'm the expert parent.

I think a lot of moms are like me. It is easy to see your spouse struggling with something, and just step in to 'help' him. It is easy to belittle his attempts at parenting. To act like you know everything and they don't know anything. Anyone ever been there?

Last night Seth's golf league ran late. Juliette was already in bed, settled down for the night, when he got home. He wanted to spend some time with her, I wanted her to get a good night's rest. I was just looking out for her best interest, right? (Certainly, it didn't have a thing to do with the fact that I was tired, and wanted a quiet evening!)

Typically I would have pitched my own fit, and insisted that Seth leave her in bed. But for some reason I relented. Seth rescued Juliette from her crib, and we proceed to have a lovely game of family hide-and-go-seek, topping the evening off with a family band session complete with banging wooden dowels on tambourines. We had a great time together, and I would have missed out on some wonderful moments with my husband and daughter if I had insisted that she stay in bed.

And you know what, she slept just fine last night.

I hate to admit it but there is a time for a routine, and then there is a time to throw that routine out the window. There is a time to be the "expert parent" and then there are times to just let Daddy do his thing.

I want Seth and Juliette to have a deep and rich relationship - so if that means that I have to sit back and let them bang some tambourines with wooden dowels late at night, so be it. Seth likes to tell Juliette that "Daddies are fun, but Mommies mean business". My new motto: "A little fun never hurt anyone."

Mt. Rushmore Vacation - 2009

My allergies have really flared up, so I'm feeling rather sluggish and fuzzy-headed. So rather than make a pathetic attempt at being witty, I will just stick to pictures today. It's better for all of us. Really.

Driving Overdose

Family Golf

(Plus the added bonus of seeing a mtn. lion chase some deer across the course.)

Big Faces

Three in a Tipi

Her First Fourth


Giddy-Up Pardner

Patriotic Alien (?)

Fireworks (with Juliette conducting)

The Fouth of July and Family

We spent the long weekend with friends and my Dad in South Dakota. What a treat! We visited Rushmore, went golfing, watched movies, posed for family pictures, oohed and awwwed over the fireworks and ate way, way, way too much food.

I've got lots of laundry to do, lots of diapers to put away, and lots of pictures to download. For now, I'll just post some of the fabulous pictures that Dad took.

It Is So Expensive

Freedom.

It isn't free.

It isn't even cheap.

In fact, it comes at a very, very high price.

No one uses a fur coat to clean their bathroom,

Or diamond-studded shovels to muck out animal stalls.


And yet, how often do we abuse our precious freedom, using it in selfish and destructive ways.


Paul said it best, "You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love." (Galatians 5:13)


Therefore, on this holiday weekend, let us soberly remember the sacrifices that have been made to secure our freedom, and let us resolve anew to honor those sacrifices by using our freedom to serve others in love.


Happy Independence Day!

~~~

A tisket,

A tasket,

A baby girl in a basket.

Look Kids, A Forest!

Well, a High Arid Plains' version of one anyways. You've got to love the middle tree - you can tell it has seen a bit of wind in it's day. But hey, it has leaves and they're green, so there is no complaining from this side of camp!

What's In A Name?

I've been studying a lot about the life of Joshua lately, in preparation for teaching some teen girls this summer at a Bible camp. I came across something really fascinating about Joshua yesterday, that I never knew before.

In Numbers 13:16 it says . . ."Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua."

So Moses changed Joshua's name - what is so fascinating about that?

Well, the interesting part surfaces when you look at the meaning of the names. Joshua's original name, Hoshea, means "deliverer". Boy, his parents sure hit the nail on the head with that name. Hoshea was such a great and mighty leader of the Israelites, delivering them from the idolatrous tribes that surrounded them on all sides, leading them to victory after victory, fighting and winning battles against nations that were stronger, bigger, and more heavily armed and fortified. Hoshea was definitely a deliverer!

But Moses obviously thought that he could do better than Hoshea's parents. He had a name in mind that was even more fitting.

Moses changed Hoshea's name to Joshua. And what does Joshua's name mean? It means "Jehovah saved".

Who knows the exact reason why Moses changed Joshua's name, but I like to think it was because Moses wanted to constantly be reminding Joshua where the victory came from - not from men, or weapons, or even Joshua's own strength, but from God alone. I like to think that Moses wanted to constantly be cultivating an attitude in Joshua that focused all the glory on God, giving Him tribute for anything good that came out of Joshua's life.

That is were I find the challenge - am I cultivating an attitude not only in my life, but in the lives of those around me, and particularly in the life of Juliette, that points directly to God. When we rejoice in the gifts that God has so graciously bestowed upon us, are we mindful to deflect the glory to where it is rightfully due - God Himself? When victories come will I be content to dwell on my own accomplishments, or will I be ready to point skyward and say like Moses, "Jehovah saved"?